Rice & Pasta

[mum2westiesGill]

Why is it that very often things like rice, pasta can give you higher BG numbers?

I love my Indian & Chinese meals but my BG numbers go quite high for a short while after 😡. I always bolus after I've eaten so that I know how much I've actually eaten.

 

[Ralph-YK]

My understanding is because it's carbohydrates, and that it's carbohydrates that does that. As opposed to food. I've been told meet and fat does not affect BG.

 

[Ditto]

There's no way we can have rice or pasta. Or potatoes come to that. I feel fed-up thinking about it. Also biscuits, we can't have them either I found out last night. Put me in double figures. 😡

We've got to be healthy and boring. 🙄

 

[Kaylz]

Have you tried having a smaller portion of the rice/pasta etc OR what do you generally have with it? takeaway's often add sugar to their sauces and thickeners too so while you may thin your getting the carb count right you could be WAY out which with the results you posted on the other thread I would say you were x

 

[Radders]

I don't bother with rice any more and I don't miss it at all. It was basically a very boring bit of the meal just there to soak up the sauce for me. I would rather eat the sauce with a spoon or pour it over more vegetables.
I used to eat all the carby foods and inject enough insulin to cover them but this resulted in me gaining loads of weight and having an awful lot of hypos as well as huge post meal spikes.
I know others prefer to keep their carbs and use various means to reduce the spikes but for me the weight gain and hypos made life very difficult and I feel much healthier keeping to the carbs which occur in fruit, veg, chocolate and lower carb breads and cereals. I don't aim for a specific amount but I estimate that my average carb intake is about 100g a day, some days higher, some lower.

 

[Lucy Honeychurch]

If I have curry I don't have rice but a small naan instead and I'm OK with that, I definitely wouldn't have both.
Also, I bolus 10/20 mins before I eat, not after.

 

[mum2westiesGill]

If I have curry I don't have rice but a small naan instead and I'm OK with that, I definitely wouldn't have both.
Also, I bolus 10/20 mins before I eat, not after.

Thank you Lucy for this suggestion I will try that next time 🙂

 

[Radders]

Thank you Lucy for this suggestion I will try that next time 🙂

I understand not wanting to bolus until after, but you can usually have a fairly good guess at the minimum amount you're likely to eat. If I am in that position as I find I have to pre-bolus quite a long time in advance to avoid spikes, I will pre-bolus for the minimum then top up when the food arrives. Perhaps you could try that.

 

[Copepod]

Soaking and rinsing rice to remove "loose" starch, before cooking, reduces carbohydrate content slightly. Personally, I like a small amount of rice with curry or chilli con carne, but will always refuse too much if someone else is wielding the serving spoon.

 

[Kaylz]

if someone else is wielding the serving spoon

Oh Copepod you do make me laugh! x

 

[Mark Parrott]

I have a chapatti with my curries. I find them better than naans as they are slower release carbs. If I have rice, I stick to a tablespoon and I seem to tolerate that ok. Actually, nearly 2 years down the line from diagnosis, I am definitely able to tolerate more carbs.

 

[phonic2k]

I also don't bother with rice anymore. I've completely switch to health food these days, even though I must admit, I did let go on holiday in August, well...what can I say it was all inclusive, but not sure why they wanted to offer 6 buffet meals a day.

Have you tried Lower GI versions of rice? White rice streamed is high GI rating of 98, while Sunrise is 55 low.
Here' is one I found out: SunRice is low GI, and Basmati is also lower than other types.

Low GI is a good option for diabetics, as it releases carbs slower, so not as much impact on your blood.

 

[Stitch147]

There's no way we can have rice or pasta. Or potatoes come to that. I feel fed-up thinking about it. Also biscuits, we can't have them either I found out last night. Put me in double figures. 😡

We've got to be healthy and boring. 🙄

I still have rice or pasta. I will have basmati rice now, which I rinse well before cooking. I usually have a couple of table spoons with homemade curry or chilli. And I am still able to have a small amount of pasta too. Potatoes are ok as long as I avoid mash!!! I still have the odd biscuit, but usually stop at 1, but I don't have biscuits in the house as my OH doesn't eat them and Id end up throwing them away.

 

[MikeTurin]

The problem is that pasta, rice, potatoes and grainy food have an high starch content. Everybody thinks the problem for diabetics are sugars, but starches are glucose chains. Highly refined grains and some breed of rice are very high on starches, so maize flour and potatoes. And some culinary preparations make starches readily available. For instance parboiled Basmati has less available starches than Roma or Carnaroli rice and the cooking mode changes the starch content.
Wholegrain bread an pasta have less starches due the increased fibre present and the bonded fibres can slow down the starches and sugars absorption.

Of course it's the total carbohydrate quantity in a food that ultimately matters.

 

[Mark Parrott]

I had pasta in Crete. I didn't order it, it was a free meal at the place we were staying. First time I've had pasta since diagnosis. BS went through the roof! 9.5! Not used to those kind of figures. I was 5 something before the pasta.

 

[phonic2k]

The problem is that pasta, rice, potatoes and grainy food have an high starch content. Everybody thinks the problem for diabetics are sugars, but starches are glucose chains. Highly refined grains and some breed of rice are very high on starches, so maize flour and potatoes. And some culinary preparations make starches readily available. For instance parboiled Basmati has less available starches than Roma or Carnaroli rice and the cooking mode changes the starch content.
Wholegrain bread an pasta have less starches due the increased fibre present and the bonded fibres can slow down the starches and sugars absorption.

Of course it's the total carbohydrate quantity in a food that ultimately matters.

This is so true. My doctor just advised to cut down on sugar, and avoid high fat, but don't seem to understand the real reason. When talking about food he would say "oh thats low in sugar so should be fine", no it was not ok, it was 70gs carb per 100gs, and used white flour. I would have been in a real mess if I had listened to my doctor, and no wonder why he was so shocked when I had reversed it.

My body needed time to heal after being bashed day after day with eating very high amounts of high GI food. I think I was on a minimum of 3,000gs carbs per day. I was very obese, a complete mess. Now I eat a healthily balanced diet, not low carb as some do, but healthily, and maintain a healthily weight and continue to exercise.

 

[RFS]

I have just reduced portions still further. I tried (and utterly failed miserably) to sub almond flour or coconut flour for plain flour so I could still have my favourite Japanese Okonomiyaki pancakes ... in the end I just dropped the portion size from 75g to 60g and switched to spelt flour. A bit of a rise that settled in the second hour.

I tried, I really tried to enjoy the wholewheat pasta offered in the canteen where I freelance, and I failed. So again, reduce the quantity down and monitor to see what the effect is. A little spike that settled once the evening metformin SR kicked in.

I have yet to try the strange wild rice/red rice/brown rice concoction my cousin suggested, and I invested in brown basmati rice, which I will try next week.

 

[Beck S]

I haven't experimented with pasta yet, but I'm going to try some this week. Measured out enough to fall in the 30g carbs per meal limit I've set myself at the moment, its not a happy sight. Still, it should satisfy my pasta craving.

 

[RFS]

I haven't experimented with pasta yet, but I'm going to try some this week. Measured out enough to fall in the 30g carbs per meal limit I've set myself at the moment, its not a happy sight. Still, it should satisfy my pasta craving.

What does that measurement come out to? I can't believe that back in the day (at Uni) I would have portions of pasta around 100g!!! Lord in heaven I dread to think what that is on a carb count!

I am thinking of dropping my pasta down to 50g

 

[RFS]

I still have rice or pasta. I will have basmati rice now, which I rinse well before cooking. I usually have a couple of table spoons with homemade curry or chilli. And I am still able to have a small amount of pasta too. Potatoes are ok as long as I avoid mash!!! I still have the odd biscuit, but usually stop at 1, but I don't have biscuits in the house as my OH doesn't eat them and Id end up throwing them away.

Hahah yes I had mash in the staff canteen where I was freelancing yesterday and bounced from 4.7 to 9.2 in the first hour! We'll strike THAT one off the list on Sausage & Mash day in future!